A-Z Switzerland travel guide

Banks:There is no shortage of Banks in Switzerland. You will find many Banks with a lot of branches.Make sure to check the opening times as they close a lot earlier than stores, sometimes as early as 4 pm.

Begging:There are just a few beggars, especially in the center of the big cities. Switzerland has an excellent social system. So people asking for money are usually drug addicts or people forced to do so by organized criminals. If you want to give something recommend to buy a "surprize" newspaper for CHF 5.- as this is an official program to help less fortunate people back on their feet and CHF 2.50 per sale will go to them.

CapitalThe capital city of Switzerland is Berne.

CurrencyThe currency in Switzerland is the Swiss franc (CHF) A lot of stores accept Euro bills as well. The change will be in Swiss Francs as they don`t handle Euro coins. It`s recommended to use Swiss francs as the exchange rate will be far worse than you get at a bank in most cases.

Dentistzahnarztzentrum.ch Has over 30 branches across Switzerland that is open 365 days. For emergency (patients in pain i.e.) they offer short notice appointments (same day if possible)

Doctors accepting walk-ins:

Zurich: Permanence Clinic, Zurich main station. Accepting walk-ins 365 days a year from 7AM-10PMLucerne: Permanence clinic, Lucerne main station. Accepting walk-ins 365 days a year from 7AM-11PMBern: Hirslanden Praxiscentrum am Bahnhof, Bern main station. Accepting walk-ins in case of emergency from 7.30 am 7 pm

Duty-free allowancegifts/articles that will remain in Switzerland: CHF 300.-250 cigarettes or 250 grams of other tobacco products.5 liter of alcohol with less than 18% Vol.1 liter of alcohol over 18% Vol.

Following products can only be imported from EU countries and Norway:1 kilo of meat (no venison, fish, seafood)1 kilo/liter of butter or cream5 kilo/liter of Oils, Fats

Allowance per person, older than 17.

Duty-free on arrivalThe airport of Zurich and Geneva offer duty-free on arrival service, located at the baggage reclaim where you can get cigarettes, a bottle of wine, spirits and much more.

As the Swiss VAT is quite low (8%) the prices difference is quite low or even more expensive than in shops downtown.(Except for cigarettes which are downtown far more costly)

ExchangeAll official exchanges are reliable and safe to use. What varies is a fee they charge for it.Some banks started to exchange money only for their customers.

I recommend the currency exchange of the Swiss federal railways (SBB) which is located at all the main train stations (Zurich main station, Zurich Airport, Bern, Lucerne, Geneva airport and much more. They have long opening hours and only charge a fee of CHF 4.- per transaction. They trade over 90 currencies, so it`s hard to surprise them.

Never exchange money on the street or help to break down a bill. That`s almost always a scam.

EmbassyThe majority of embassies are located in Bern.You will find a list of all foreign representations with a click on the following link:

Emergency numbers in Switzerland

General emergency 112

Fire 118

Police 117

Ambulance 144

Rega Helicopter rescue service 1414

Vehicle breakdown service 140

Toxicological institute (in case of poisoning) 145

Radio (in case of avalanche) 161.300 MHz

Federal RailwaysVery reliable and comfortable for transport within Switzerland. Most major cities are connected with trains departing every 30 minutes. On the downside, they are quite expensive. They still have the monopoly on regular transport within Switzerland, so you will not find cheaper Buses on domestic routes. For cross-border service in the example to Munich, Milano, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam there are Bus companies like Flixbus and Bla bla car that are offering very cheap seats. Find all tickets on goeuro.ch which lists all the companies and routes.

GroceriesThe biggest retailers for groceries are Coop and Migros.

Lidl and Aldi are the largest discount retailers. Only a few of their stores are centrally located. Most of them are quite a bit outside of the cities where space is cheaper.

On the go: Convenience shopsCoop Pronto and Migrolino offer a limited selection of their supermarket assortment at only a little bit higher prices.They sell as well cigarettes and alcohol and are mostly located in train stations or at gas stations.

Another convenience store is K-Kiosk. They have rather high prices, especially on beverages like a coca cola are almost double the prices compared to Migrolino or Coop Pronto.

Rental carsHere a list of some companies that provide a network of branches in Switzerland:

sixt.ch

avis.ch

hertz.ch

enterprise.ch

budget.ch

europcar.ch

alamo.ch

sunnycars.ch

SafetySwitzerland is very safe, just use common precaution.

Common scams include:

Pickpocketing by distracting and asking for directionsAsking for money exchange, breaking bills and skim money or grab the walletBeggar (forced to beg by organized criminals)People claiming to be the CEO of a big corporation, out of gas money and they will return the money later on(Yes some people fall for it indeed)

SmokingCigarettes can be bought at almost all convenience stores and supermarkets. The prices of a pack of 20 Cigarettes is between 7-9 Swiss Francs depending on the brand. (Marlboro CHF 8.40) Smoking is banned from all inside places such as Bars and Restaurants. There are a few bars with a special secluded smoking area where smoking is allowed such as the V!OR club restaurant or the Pub in Zurich.

Vignette (Road Toll) If you want to travel on the Swiss Highways by car you will need to buy a vignette. This colored sticker costs CHF 40.- and has to be adhered on your windshield. It`s valid for a calendar year and can be bought at all gas stations in Switzerland.

ZnüniMeaning at 9 o`clock in Swiss German, this means it`s time for a morning snack.

The duration of our tours varies as our tours are private. We always have some spare time during our trips, and we can extend the tour duration free of charge by an hour or two, according to your needs. We want you to have a relaxed and enjoyable trip without rush. If you need to be back at a specific time, please let us know at the time of booking.

Group size

All our tours are private. It will be only your party present. In order to provide you the best experience we only accept groups up to 6 Persons with max. 3 children per group. An adult must accompany children.

Class of travel

On most of our tours you can choose the class of travel on the trains. Choose between first-class (Premium) and second-class (Economy).

Mountain railways, Post buses, and cable cars have only one class of travel.